Fluctuation theorem convergence in a viscoelastic medium demonstrated experimentally using a dusty plasma
Dong Huang1, Shaoyu Lu1, Xia-Qing Shi1
1Center for Soft Condensed Matter Physics and Interdisciplinary Research, School of Physical Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou 215006, China.
Abstract:
The convergence of the steady-state fluctuation theorem (SSFT) is investigated in a shear-flow experiment performed in a dusty plasma. This medium has a viscoelastic property characterized by the Maxwell relaxation time τ_{M}. Using measurements of the time series of the entropy production rate, for subsystems of various sizes, it is discovered that the SSFT convergence time decreases with the increasing system size until it eventually reaches a minimum value of τ_{M}, no matter the size of the subsystem. This result indicates that the convergence of the SSFT is limited by the energy-storage property of the viscoelastic medium.
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